TOP OF THE HEAP: Undefeated U.S. men win third in a row at Concacaf U-17 championship to capture their group

BRADENTON, Fla. – The U.S. Under-17 men’s national team defeated Guatemala, 3-0, to clinch the top spot in Group F at the 2019 Concacaf U-17 Championship Monday.

The Americans will face pre-qualifying group winner Guadeloupe in the Round of 16 Thursday at 6 p.m. ET.

The U.S. faced a dogged effort from a physical Guatemala side, but two of the cycle’s leading goal=scorers delivered as Griffin Yow bagged a brace on both sides of halftime before Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez iced the game in the final minutes to secure the USA’s third consecutive victory.

The top three teams from each group qualify to the Round of 16. Four teams — Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico — advanced directly to the Round of 16 as group winners in a pre-tournament qualifying phase. The four tournament semifinalists earn berths to the U-17 World Cup.

U.S. U-17 head coach Raphael Wicky made nine changes to the lineup that rolled past Barbados, 6-1, in its second match. The Americans got off to a slow start against the Guatemalans, but Yow provided a spark on the right wing. After a few threatening chances, he finally broke through in the 25th minute, when Mauricio Cuevas set him up for a tight-angle finish to the far post in the aftermath of a free kick. The opening goal marked the U.S.’s seventh in three matches either directly from or through dead-ball situations.

In the second half, the U.S. forged through a chippy, determined effort from Los Chapines. The red, white and blue held the majority of possession and spent a number of extended spells in Guatemala’s final third, capitalizing with two second-half tallies.

Captain Gio Reyna sparked the U.S.’s second goal in the 51st minute. Starting the game on the left wing rather than centrally, Reyna wheeled past a few defenders inside the box as he charged to the end line and sent a cross to the six-yard box where Yow headed it home to double the advantage. Ocampo-Chavez confirmed the three points with a header in the 86th minute. His Seattle Sounders FC teammate Daniel Leyva made some similarly shifty moves through the box before delivering a nice cross for him at the far post.

About The Author

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered eight World Cups, seven Olympics and all 21 MLS Cups. He writes about New York City FC, New York Cosmos and the U.S. national team for Newsday and pens a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has two more in the works, including one about the Rochester Lancers.